Shadow part. 2

"YOU DARE CALL YOURSELF THE EMPEROR!? A HUMAN CARETAKER HAS NO RIGHT TO RULE OVER THE DARK EMPIRE!!"

Within the diabolic palace of the vampire empire was an underground prison. The palace's dungeon who's chained brick walls held one of the rebel vampire from the West land of Cryptall.

Before him where the General in his usual imperial uniform. The vampires didn't need full armour unlike the fragile humans. But they wore it either for formality or lessen the danger on their weak spots.

General Xerion wore a knee-length soot black leather vest with gold lining at the edges where fit around his sculptured torso perfectly as a base. Above the vest was a separate matching black leather add-on long sleeves with a high cut collar, almost like an open turtle neck fashion. A number of darker black belts that latched from the front edge of the add-on sleeve crossed down over his thin iron plated chest to clip on his belted hip. A thick large belt where his sword was attached to hugged around his waist, The belt had an iron demonic insignia for the buckle.

His torso armour only protected his chest and left arm consisting of a metal spaulder, a couter on the elbow connected with a metal vambrace on the forearm and a small piece of metal covering the back of his hand that wore fingerless gloves. For his lower half in black trousers, he had metal poleyn knee protectors and greaves above thick combat boots with iron soles. Although their metal armour looked as if it can easily be penetrated, their kin had special iron and metal, as if it was forged from demon scale back when they where occult in their dark realm. His apparel increased his charisma immeasurably, Especially now that he had also shaved his facial hair.

Assisting him was his loyal ash blonde headed servant Rion DeVerio, the handsome young right-hand of the general for 400 years - sported the same attire only it was in dark grey of shade and a humbler sized shoulder protector. Beside the two strapping military men where the Emperor in his grand formal wine colour tailored suit chained with gold attaching a jet black side mantle.

"This was the one leading the small rebellion at the west?" The emperor said, pointing the question to his general who was slowly getting tired at listening to the constant rants of the prisoner.

"Indeed your highness, may I?" Xerion slightly turned his gaze towards his emperor as he asked for permission for whatever he planned on doing

"Granted" The emperor in dark red tailored suit with a side black cape embedded with gold linings took a few steps out of the cell with his gloved hands clasped behind his back.

"Cooperate, and this won't hurt much" Xerion was staring blankly at the rebel as if he was bored and had better things to do.

"Fuck you! Go fuck your filthy human whore!—- ugh!!!"

-BANG-

A rough palm gripped on the rebel's face before his head was smashed against the rough bricked wall, Cracking skull. If it where a human, they would die instantly but he was a vampire and the general didn't even exert much effort, he merely received  excruciating pain.

"Who helped you attain those weapons? We all know vampire hunters do not have such anti-pure blood weapons. Where did you get them?"

The vampire spat on the general's palm that was gripping his face and Xerion sighed. He had wished this would go smoothly so he could come home and continue courting his wife who was still somewhat skeptical of his affection for her. Yet this dog was uncooperative and was wasting time like all the others

"Let's try this again" The general held his head firm and shoved his index finger and thumb inside the prisoner's mouth

"HA....-AAAAAGH!!!!!" In their kind, there was a certain extreme pain they cannot withstand other than direct sunlight or silver. And it was having their fangs ripped out from the roots.

The sharp ended bloody tooth flew to the cold dirty stoned ground not long after another one followed.

His wails of anguish echoed within the cold four corners of the dungeon

"Have you yet to change your mind?" Xerion asked in a stoic tone with his hand now pushing on the man's forehead to keep his bloody face held high.

'Pants' "... Fuck...you..." 'pants'.

"Your daughter... how many years did you and your spouse tried before you finally had such a sweet daughter?" The words from Xerion's lips had the prisoner's eyes shot open in horror.

"No...Don't hurt them...! They have nothing to do... with this!" There was a slight resistance to Xerion's hold on his head

"The weapons" Xerion demanded the answer

"They... They where just sent in a crate... from an unknown source! That's all I know I swear! Please don't hurt my daughter...!"

Ah... another dead end.

Is what Xerion thought. Like all the others they had interrogated, it was all the same. A crate but no words or a witness for who provided such.

"This is an empire, treason comes with heavy punishment. You knew that yet you still went against your Emperor." Rion worded their kin's rules from the side before Xerion finished with a devastating sentence for the prisoner

"Your prejudicial wife and child where already burned to death under the sun at the boarders. As did the other family members who had anything to do with your little propaganda. Die knowing it was you who brought despair upon them."

"You... YOU—!!"

-Crack-

A line of blood splattered at the side of General Hellsworn's cheek

The hand that gripped on the man's forehead was now holding a fist full of innards from what it had crushed.

"Rion, have the one in charge of the collection of evidence gather all the crate remains we found from every raid regarding the rebellion. Deliver them to my estate as soon as possible" The general turned to face his emperor and slightly gave a bow

"The interrogation was yet again fruitless, I apologize my lord"

"Don't be, General. I assume you are already planning something with regards to the matter, which is why I will no longer further delay your time here. You are dismissed" With that, the emperor shifted it's form into several large bats that swarmed out of the dungeon.

The shape shifting into swarms that can be used in offensive or defensive ways depending on the situation are only granted to a certain number of pure bloods - The emperor himself, and some are from three out of the seven treasures and Xerion is one of the gifted, though he prefers his mount than having segments of him flutter all over the place.

Rion had already dispersed right after his master gave him orders. The general still has work to do, his desire for his woman's presence was bothering the back of his head. He had never been this impatient with work and he never wanted to go home so badly before.

The general sighed mixed in with a humble chuckle as he turned away from the hanging corpse that soon eroded into a lump of sand infront of empty chains

-

"Achoo!"

"Caw!" Noir flapped it's wings to balance back on Ruviena's shoulder

"Are you cold my Lady?" Lui who was walking beside Ruviena out in the garden near the spot Ruviena saw the odd shadow was a bit surprised at her mistress' sudden sneeze

"No, I'm fine"

'Hmm... someone's thinking or talking about me or something?'

After facing off with her husband's no-longer-lover, she wanted to check on the shadow that had caught her attention earlier, hoping it was just her imagination. As a hunter for years now, her intuitions in the field of danger never failed her when it tells her something is not right.

"Do you sense anything Noir?"

"Caw" - 'None, Mistress"

Noir's head jerked from one side then tilting, observing the area his mistress found suspicious. But there was nothing there

"Remarkable..." Lui muttered, Though she seem to have facial paralysis - is what Ruviena concluded in her thoughts, but Lui stared at the crow on Ruviena's shoulder that if you focus into the maid's light brown eyes a little bit more, you can tell that she was indeed interested despite the lack of facial expression

"It speaks to you My Lady, it's quite majestic" she said with her small soft voice

"Caw" [translation: You are too thin, you should eat more. Stick's are useless for my mistress]

"!!!" Ruviena jerked her shoulder where her crow porched on and Noir ended up flying towards Lui's shoulder instead

"Did it speak to me?What did it say My lady?" Lui was now unquestionably excited to have the crow's words be translated to her

"Caw" [translation: stick]

Ruviena hesitated with a crooked smile towards her maid. Lying wouldn't do good but it's just...

"He just said uhmm... Twigs" Ruviena's eyes purposely squinted at some branches on nearby trees, pointing out something literal instead. Lui herself took it literally too, thank goodness.

Well her crow was over reacting, but he wasn't wrong. She had been malnourished back at the slave house and it has become her habit to eat less.

She'll have to ask Yoran to make sure Lui finishes her meals from now own.

Ruviena was right at the exact tree where she spotted the shadow. There was nothing there, not even a scent left for her familiar to track.

'There really is nothing here, Mistress. What did you see anyway?' Noir cawed as he stood on Lui's shoulder. Ruviena was now standing at the same spot where she saw the shadow was, thinking long and hard in silence.

'something's definitely not right'

"Mmmuuuhhh..." A deformed sound filled with anguish lurked from a nearby bush.

"AAAAAHHH!" Lui screamed at the horrendous sight of what seemed like a rotten human corpse with limbs that seem to have been rearranged from where they should be.

Ruviena stood infront of Lui in a protective stance as the creature crawled eerily from the bush with it's skin emitting black mists. An Undead, and without a scent means that it has a skilled master to conceal it. Ruviena thought that the master was so bold enough and dared to control it under daylight! The undead didn't scare Ruviena, she has seen worse in her line of work. What she didn't expect was the corpse was someone she knew!

"What in the world happened to you Victor...?"